Marwin Al-Aloosi, an Uber driver who recently immigrated from Iraq, had just picked up an unidentified passenger a Dallas-area apartment complex around 1 a.m. The passenger had a handgun in a case. Al-Aloosi and the passenger struck up a conversation about guns and Al-Aloosi wanted to take a selfie with the gun in hand.

Enter Don Quixote, I mean, John Mark Beaty. Beaty sees Al-Aloosi with a gun in hand it seemed obvious to Beaty that Al-Aloosi was an immediate theat. So the best thing he could do right then was shoot Al-Aloosi until he dropped the gun. Fifteen rounds later, Beaty apparently realized he’d had a serious error in judgement and began treating Al-Aloosi’s wounds until emergency responders arrived.

Lesson learned here? It is often far better to simply be a good witness. Not all you see is necessarily what it seems. You can honestly believe you’re doing everything “right” and still be dead wrong. Being an armed citizen (licensed or not) does not create a duty to right every wrong or get into every shitstorm you think you see. If Beaty is lucky, his lawyers will convince a jury that he acted reasonably given the totality of the circumstances. At the moment, it looks like his lawyers have a very hard job ahead of them. Choose wisely folks.

A homeowner, who’d called 911 in response to a home invasion and exchanged fire with the intruders was ultimately shot by responding officers in Charleston, South Carolina. Officers arrived on the scene and saw to male suspects fleeing on bicycles. The local agency’s statement would seem to indicate they believe it was the homeowner’s own fault he was shot.

“Our deputies proceeded to the rear of the home and were confronted by an armed subject exiting or standing at the back door of the residence,” the sheriff’s statement read. “Our deputies challenged the subject and ordered him to drop his weapon, which he didn’t at the time. As a result, one of our deputies fired his service weapon striking the subject once in the neck area.” Police said the subject who was shot is a homeowner or resides at the property.

This isn’t meant to be a post about police brutality. We all have our own opinions on that and unfortunately, because the homeowner in this case was black, we are sure to hear the usual suspects bring up race. But, the more obvious lesson has nothing to do with race and everything to do with being at the scene of a high risk call with officers responding to a “shots fired” call.

If you find yourself in a home invasion and gain the upper hand, remember that continuing to chase them once they disengage and leave your home is fraught with exponentially greater risk. If you can, stay on the line with the operator/dispatcher. Give a clear description of who you are and what you look like (race, gender, height, build, clothing). If and only if it is safe to do so, leave the house and tell the dispatcher/operator to have officers meet you at a safe location rather than waiting for them to enter your home. If they ask why you want to do this, the simple answer is that you do not want to risk your family or yourself getting shot by responding officers. If officers are already there, put your gun down, and I cannot stress this enough, comply with their commands immediately.

The headline of a couple being shot by a woman’s Glock that just “went off” in her purse has been circling the Interwebs and inspiring commentary from anti-gunners and old fogies alike. Of course, they all see it as an opportunity to denigrate Glocks or carrying a round in the chamger. But Glocks aren’t the problem here. Much like the woman who shot herself “while adjusting her bra,” it’s a problem of negligence, not a bad choice in guns. If you’re going to put a loaded gun in a purse, it needs to be secured in a holster, period.

-GM

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Franklin County Sheriff’s Office officials say a woman was shot in both legs and her boyfriend shot through his hand after her gun went off in her purse Saturday afternoon.

Lt. Phillip Young said the woman’s Glock went off while the couple sat in a vehicle outside a residence in the 1400 block of Virgil H. Goode Highway in Bassett about 3:30 p.m. The man, who was in the driver’s seat, put a drink can in the woman’s purse before putting his hand on her leg .

“[The bullet] went through his hand, through one of her legs near the knee area and then hit her other knee,” Young said. “Her pocketbook was full of stuff. It’s hard to say what made it go off.”

In years past, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has been a largely peaceful, fun, annual event in Texas. And every year, the question of whether or not it was legal to carry on the grounds has come up. There was a time when the HLSR didn’t seem to have an official policy on the issue. The law however, was generally clear.

If one were to enter, for example, the bull or bronco riding events, you are obviously at a “professional sporting event” and it would be illegal to carry on the premises of the event in which that was occurring. But if you’re just attending the carnival outside that event, concealed carry technically isn’t an issue. But in 2011, there was a shooting between “teens” on the carnival grounds. and a movement to ban guns entirely from the event gained steam. Fast forward to 2015 and there are now metal detectors at all HLSR entrances.

Unfortunately, the event is still far from secure. What takes place cannot even remotely be called a “search” or even light screening. Anyone so inclined, could still walk-in with a blade or even a gun. Anyone who intends to do others harm, will still do so. And a sure sign that the HLSR isn’t what it used to be is the latest kerfuffle…A student’s artwork has been rejected because it merely contained the image of a gun. This, from an organization that allegedly prides itself on celebrating cowboys and Texas culture…You’d think it was the Austin Livestock Show and Rodeo or something!

Can’t wait to see this! Quanell X, like so many others, has run his mouth for years about what is and is not a justifiable use of force with no knowledge or experience on which to base his assumptions. We’ve seen another “activist” go through this recently and unsurprisingly, he found himself lighting folks up like the 4th of July. I strongly suspect Quanell will have a similar experience but, the question is, will he be honest about his experience and will it cause him to look at things differently?